The War of Misery
The War of Misery was a large war mainly fought during the Second Age by the Elves of Jetas against the dark forces of Markarth, who wanted to destroy Elves and Men in order to conquer the rest of the region. Over 10 million people died during the long span of the war, with even more deaths following in another conflict that would occur just a few years later. A few major losses include the massive depopulation of Orcs and Usruds in Cagia, the destruction of the Elven city of Highgarden, and the overall damage done to the lush green lands of Jetas. The major forces involved in the world-wide fighting were Elves and Men, the Dwarves of Stoneforge, and the massive Minotaur armies of the Dark Lord, a great army that would later split up after the Dark Lord's final demise at the Battle of Solegost. Before the War (Markarth's Rise To Power, The Dark Tower of Solegost) At the end of the First Age, the First Dark Lord finished the Tower of Solegost and began to breed massive armies of Minotaurs, Cyclopes, and other foul creatures to serve as soldiers, enforcers, etc.,in the tower's vats, in order for them to fight in the coming war against the Elves of Highgarden and the brave Men of Narthal. He sent armies to march across Jetas and destroy enemy forts located in the region, in order to weaken their forces first before attacking the local villages, burning each and every one of the unsuspecting towns to the ground. Because of these vile atrocities committed both against the Elves and against the Men of Narthal, the two power houses soon began to assemble plans to stop the Dark Lord's armies by building large iron gates at both their borders and certain shortcuts, blocking the massive armies for now and giving them time to prepare for the coming war. However, this merely gave the Dark Lord more time to plan his attack against both kingdoms, strengthening himself and his armies by the day, while also building large roads and bridges for his armies to travel on, allowing for new shortcuts to be made into Eirition. After a few months of scouting the vast land, Markarth finally sent an army of 8 million soldiers to march to Highgarden, the large army wiping the entire population out before claiming the city as their own, a few groups of Elves reporting the slaughter to the High Council of Esfer, thus starting the war against the Dark Lord Markarth. History of the War A few notable things happened during the War of Misery, including 2 attempted attacks against Narthal, the founding of the feared Black Legion, and a long siege against the Elves of Esfer. Below this introduction are short summaries about the aforementioned events, with detailed descriptions included for each of them. Assault on Highgarden The main thing that started the war was the large assault on the city of Highgarden, which lasted only about 45 minutes, and resulted in the deaths of half a million Elves and humans, which led to the Elves quick deciding to wage war against the Dark Lord. Homes and streets were destroyed by both Cyclops enforcers, catapults, and Dragon Riders, heavily damaging the once sturdy structure of the city and causing trouble for any civilians who wished to escape the hellish battle. In the aftermath of the successful assault, Markarth gave an inspiring speech from the upper city of Highgarden, filling his soldiers with a sense of great victory before sending 2 armies to destroy the newly founded kingdom of Narthal, in order to weaken the opposing force and focus on other major threats. The First Attack on Narthal Reports say that it took an entire month for the army to reach the kingdom of Narthal from the high mountains of Eirition, a march that the Minotaurs deemed worthy of attempting, before attacking the city at midnight, slaughtering any and all civilians and guards as they went. The entire battle apparently only lasted 3 weeks overall before the Men of Narthal began to gain the upper hand, weakening the supply lines of the opposing armies until reinforcements came from the nearby fortress of Longeleth, driving the Minotaurs out and saving countless lives. With this defeat, the armies returned to the Tower of Solegost and reported their failure, which resulted in the Dark Lord ordering that the entire army be dropped in lava, soldier by soldier, one by one, until none of them stood standing, proving that the Dark Lord did not tolerate failure in this war. The Black Legion After multiple reports told of rising slave resistance in the region, the Dark Lord ordered the large armies of Cagia to form into the Black Legion so they could deal with the problem, a Legion that would, in the future, be feared throughout the entire continent for their uncontrolled ferocity and savagery towards their enemies.. The Legion was soon ordered to quickly handle the vast population of slaves in the desert by Markarth's top lieutenant, Careon, however, a task that they handled through executing, torturing, and beating all those who tried to resist them. Throughout the Dark Lord's brutal reign, the Black Legion stood as one of the fiercest, largest armies to ever serve him, a reputation that the Legion did everything they could to protect. Assault on Esfer After failing to assault Narthal, Markarth ordered his armies to instead try and attack Esfer, which was a kingdom the Elves founded years ago in the Western portion of Jetas. His armies marched for 5 weeks until they finally reached the powerful city, managing to break down the entrance walls of the city using giant Armored Cyclopes before charging into the first perimeter of the city, the Market. Fighting in the city would last almost ten years until the Minotaurs finally retreated from the ruined kingdom, destroying and killing all in sight during their quick retreat. Second Assault on Narthal After another failed attempt to weaken his enemies, the Dark Lord decided to send his armies toward Narthal once again, hoping that their forces would have diminished and weakened since the last time they fought them. The armies once again marched towards the city during a 3 week period, the march to the human city being shorter this time due to the armies marching from Solegost instead of the dark city of Darmung, which also allowed the armies to be even larger because of the shorter march. After the 3 week march, another assault was launched upon the lower city sometime in late June, the Minotaur forces slaughtering most of the population before being forced to camp in what was left of the destroyed streets by the enemy. The assault later became a siege that lasted for over 5 years, both sides merely raiding and sabotaging each other until the famous Assault on Camp Hildush occurred, in which an army of Elves from Esfer attacked one of the major enemy war camps in the middle city, driving the Minotaurs back to their Master. Final Battle (Assault on Solegost/The Fall of The Mighty Dark Lord) After the Elves victory in both the cities of Esfer and Narthal, Elves and Men decided to lead a final attack on the Dark Lord's forces by destroying their main base of operations: The Tower of Doom, also known as the Tower of Solegost. A mighty, famed warrior named the Dragonslayer was tasked with leading an army to destroy the great tower of evil from the outside, a task that the warrior chose to accept, which would make him insanely famous in the near future. After a long 9 day march from Esfer, the Dragonslayer and his army of Elves finally arrived at the great Tower and began to prepare for battle against the Dark Lord's forces, counting their rations and readying their weapons until the two sides finally clashed with each other hours later. The great assault soon turned into a battle that went on for 5 hours until the mighty mace of the Dark Lord fell from the top of Solegost, landing next to the stone tower with a thud before the Tower finally fell moments later, crushing Markarth's forces as they left and marking the end of the war, with Elves and Men being the standing victors of it. Aftermath After the end of the War of Misery, the Minotaurs quickly fell in power, retreating into the mountains for years to come and being hunted down by any dragons that now lived in the plush wild lands. It was a time of world peace in Lyriam that would stand for years to come, followed by another war that would occur in 120 SA, the War for Cagia. The Minotaurs stayed in Cagia for years to come after the war's harsh fighting, with only a few groups residing in Jetas before breaking out into war against each other during the War for Cagia, like their brothers to the East of them. Only when Careon regained power years later would they once again become a vast threat to the inhabitants of Lyriam, feared for seeking vengeance for their fallen Master.Category:History Category:Wars/Conflicts